David Ignatius: The Hardliners in Iran Do Not Want to Give up Control of the Strait Because of the Leverage

EXCERPT:

IGNATIUS: “So, Jonathan, as near as we can tell, these negotiations really have broken down on the first insistence the U.S. had, which is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Everything else was to be left for later, the detailed negotiations over the nuclear issue, other aspects, but this was supposed to be number one. And it's obvious to me that there is a split within the Iranian team, that the super hardliners in Iran do not want to give up control of the strait, because they know the leverage that that gives them. They've seen that Trump has been compelled really to make concession after concession to try to reopen the strait. They don't want to give that up.”